Could This 13-Year-Old Be The First Person On Mars?

Alyssa Carson, 13, dreams of becoming an astronaut and being onboard the first manned mission to Mars - and Nasa thinks her dream may just come true.

The teenager from Louisiana, US, has gone to all three of Nasa's world space camps - five-day training events for would-be astronauts - and she's spent the last nine years in training with Nasa.

"I want to go to Mars because it is a place no one has been," she told the BBC. "It 's completely deserted right now, so I want to take that first step.

"I think that I have a high chance of going to Mars basically because I've been training for nine years so far.

"As I get older and continue to do more things the resume will just eventually get longer and help me stand out and help me look unique compared to other people."

Alyssa has the full support of her father Bret, who says that he and his daughter have discussed the possibility that she may not return from a space mission - but even that hasn't put her off her dream.

"I absolutely think Alyssa will be on Mars," said Bret. "There's not a doubt in my mind because of how hard she works."

And Nasa is taking her seriously.

"She is of the perfect age to one day become an astronaut and eventually travel to Mars," said Paul Foreman from the space agency.

"She is doing the right things, she is taking the right training, taking all the right steps to actually become an astronaut."

Despite her 'packed' training schedule Alyssa says she still finds time to be a kid, and she likes to spend her weekends playing football and playing the piano.